


1+1

by hunters_retreat



Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-18 17:04:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1436125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some nights, it became too much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1+1

 

They tried. They really did try, but no one could doubt how epically horrible they were at relationships; one with a job that left him leaving at the drop of a hat and the other with a mind that worked him day and night until his questions were resolved.

They knew it wasn’t right. They were raised better than that, raised to understand right from wrong and good from bad and all the gray in between. One was raised to take care of himself though, with a resentment that walked the line of love and hate far too often and the other was raised in his own world, a place where other people’s emotions, his own emotions, were outside.

As they grew older, they began to take care of each other, realizing as work brought them closer, that no one could understand them, no one would ever understand who and what they were.

Some nights, it became too much.

All Charlie could see was the agent who went down right in front of Don, the agent who died in his brother’s place. Don knew what was in his head, knew how hard Charlie was taking it as soon as he’d seen the wide eyes, the arms crossed over his chest with his hands holding his elbows in like he needed to hold his heart in place. He’d watched Charlie walk away, watched him leave the scene before he could chase after him, and knew that Charlie was losing himself to the world again.

He followed as quickly as he could but paperwork and talking to bereaved families had to come before comforting his little brother so it was long past midnight before he strolled into the garage. Charlie was scribbling something furiously on the chalkboards, lips moving without sound as he worked the equations in his head.

Don didn’t understand the math, but he’d learned to understand Charlie and there was no small amount of fascination as he watched his brother take those equations and turn them into something real and meaningful. A small smile tugged at his lips as he watched his brother moving from one place to another. There was nothing self conscious about him, nothing that made him think he should ever be anything other than what he was. He hadn’t always been that way, but he’d grown into the brilliance of his mind with a personality that was just as dynamic. Don had always loved his brother, even when he hated him, but watching him now gave him a sense of pride and contentment.

It wasn’t until Charlie stopped and looked at him that anything else slipped into his mind.

Charlie’s eyes were like fire that seared through him. There was so much need in his brother’s eyes, need and passion and pain and so many things that Don wished he could protect his brother from, that he wished he could see directed elsewhere. It was there though, there for Don and he didn’t doubt his own eyes reflected the same.

Charlie was moving across the garage then, all purpose and demand as he buried his head in Don’s neck, his arms wrapped around his brother’s waist. “Do you know how many times it should have been you Don?” Charlie asked, his voice wavering slightly as he spoke. “Do you know how many times I’ve done the math and proven that you shouldn’t be here anymore? That… that I should be alone.”

“Shhhh... Charlie. I’m alright. I’m not going to leave you alone buddy, okay?”

Charlie looked up guiltily and Don didn’t pull away even though he knew what was coming next.

“No. It’s not okay.” Charlie managed to say just before he leaned up and crushed his lips to Don’s.

Don returned the kiss but he held Charlie’s arms close to him, keeping his brother from anything more. He felt Charlie pull against him, but ignored it in favor of teasing his brother’s lip apart with his tongue. Charlie moaned into his mouth, his hands gripping Don’s shirt tightly as if he could pull him closer.

“Don…” He asked permission, always asking permission, but Don had to be the smart one this time.

“Charlie… this isn’t right. You know this-”

“I know… I just… you can’t leave me alone Don. No one gets it anymore. No one understands… Don… I just… I need you with me.”

  
The words were whispered against his lips and Don wondered who the hell he thought he was kidding when he decided to be the smart one tonight. He’d never managed it before and he wasn’t going to start tonight it seemed.

When Charlie pushed him back to the bed they kept in there for Charlie to pass out on when he worked himself into a frenzy, Don went willingly, his hands pulling Charlie’s shirt over his head as they went. Their clothes made a cookie-crumb trail that Don was certain Charlie would some day analyze and learn that his older brother needed this just as much as he did.

Don didn’t think as he fell back on the bed, watching Charlie grab for the old bag that he left beside it, didn’t want to think about how often they did this that Charlie had started keeping supplies at hand for them. But then Charlie was leaning over him, bare-chested and lips burning a line from his heart to his lips and Don didn’t think at all beyond pulling Charlie close and making him feel safe and loved.

He rolled and Charlie followed, letting Don pin him to the bed as he stripped them both of the rest of their clothes. He reached out, his hand resting on Don’s heart, leaving a yellow chalk print of his hand. Don held his fingers in place, pushing Charlie’s hand there until his brother began pulling him down again.

He took his time, always took his time with Charlie, always leaving him panting and begging, loose and wet before he slid into his brother’s body. Charlie’s breath stole across his cheek as Don pressed their foreheads together, trying to catch his breath as his brother adjusted to the feel of him.

“Don… please…”

It was all the permission he needed and he was thrusting into Charlie. He pressed into his brother’s body, felt him thrusting back, their rhythm as flawless here as it had become in the casework they explored.

He could feel Charlie shivering, feel the way his brother was falling apart on him. “Come on buddy, hold it together for me.” He whispered in his ear and Charlie’s eyes flew open, his fingers digging into the small of Don’s back.

Don arched into it, into the press of Charlie’s fingers, knowing he’d wear bruises for it in the morning and not giving a god damn. He felt the building pressure, felt the way it tingled up his spine and pooled low, so he reached between them, taking his brother in hand. Charlie moaned as he thrust up into Don’s hand and his eyes were wild as he looked at Don, begging for permission without saying a word.

“Let it go Charlie. Let go for me.”

White stripes coated them, and as Charlie’s body seized around him, Don let go as well. He pumped his hips a few more times, painting Charlie his from the inside. He let his head rest on Charlie’s forehead a minute before he pulled out, shifting to his side as he collapsed.

Charlie just lay there for a minute, but then he was turning on his side, away from Don. He reached his hand over and pulled Charlie back, his back against Don’s chest and relaxed a little as Charlie scooted even closer.

“I can’t lose you Don. I wouldn’t survive it.”

Don took a deep breath and wondered if maybe that was what his brother had been working on all night. Had he found a way to predict his likelihood of survival if Don was killed? Or was he just being Charlie?

“Of course you would. The world needs you Math genius. Dad needs you.” He added. Low blow or not he had no intention of letting his brother think Don would let this go. He loved Charlie too much to let him think that way. He loved him too much period, as if something in him needed to make up for the times he’d hated or resented his brother growing up. “Besides, nothing is going to happen to me. I’m not ever leaving you alone Charlie. I’m always going to be here to protect you.”

Charlie shifted over, pushing Don back onto the mattress and let his head rest on Don’s chest, his hand on Don’s heart. He could feel the smile against his skin as he ran his fingers through his brother’s curls. “You hear that Charlie? I’m always going to protect you.”

“Yeah Don.” His brother said, voice sleepy and content. “Let it all go Don, just like you said.” Charlie whispered. “Protect you too. Just…” the yawn that interrupted his words made Don chuckle. “let me take a nap. Get the equation when I wake up.”

“Don’t need any more equations Charlie.”

“No?”

“Sometimes, the simplest equations are the best.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Don said, leaning in to brush his lips against his brother’s forehead. “1+1 Charlie. The only equation I need is 1+1.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at Numb3rs fic. Be gentle with me :P


End file.
